


Stevanie AU

by maramarie



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-21
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-13 18:57:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17493437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maramarie/pseuds/maramarie
Summary: This is a fanfic based off of a mini DnD campaign that I did with a couple of friends. It's an AU to our actual DnD campaign. Be prepared for a somewhat classic 80s romance starring Stephanie Wilson, the head cheerleader at Westside High School, and Steve Sanders, local school drug dealer. Warning: it includes a fair bit of swearing, some violence, and sexual content.





	1. Chapter 1: Vending Machines

Steph tapped her foot on the floor softly as she looked around P. C. Jenny’s. Her eyes skimmed the bags as she stopped on a white round purse, sparkling under the fluorescent lights. Stephanie looked over to the counter in the near-empty store, walking over. 

 

“Excuse me, clerk?” Steph asked, smiling softly. The man looked up from the magazine he was reading. “Yes, ma'am?” He asked, almost as if she had interrupted what he was doing. Stephanie cleared her throat. “You know, there’s that really pretty white bag over there, but I just - I don’t know, my parents just died a month ago,” She starts to sniffle a bit, “I just always wanted to get that with them, and just, you know, they couldn’t get it for me because they died.”

 

Tears started streaming out of the blonde’s eyes. “I was just wondering if I could have it for a bit cheaper?” She asks suavely, tears still falling from her blue eyes. The clerk looks a bit uncomfortable, clearing his throat. “I guess so, yeah.” He says softly. Stephanie smiled, the tears stopping as she wiped her cheeks. “I’ll take that bag then, thank you.” She smiles sweetly. 

 

 

Steve checks his watch for the third time as he waits, glancing around the food court under his shades. He was here to meet up with someone, to buy some more drugs. It’s been a while though, and no one has showed up yet. Steve sighs to himself, looking around the food court. Steve headed over to buy a milkshake, sniffling a bit as he rubbed his nose. The guy he was meeting was supposed to be giving him something that was laced. The normal weed he had just want cutting it anymore. 

 

He had left the other weed on the table at home, hoping maybe his mom would smoke it. His whole family were addicts, whether it be crack, alcohol, or weed. His family was fucked up, so he knew someone would smoke it. Steve thought quietly to himself. His eyes drifted over to the pop machine, noticing a blonde seemingly hitting it.  _Well, hey, she’s pretty hot._ Steve thought to himself as he made his way over, possibly to offer her some money. Really, he was silently hoping she’d suck his dick. 

 

“Hey, uh, you know those things aren’t voice activated right?” Steve questions the blonde, raising his eyebrows behind his sunglasses. Stephanie rolls her eyes as she looks to the brunet. “Who the fuck are you?” She asks aggressively. “Jesus, I’m just trying to help you out.” Steve mumbles softly, taken aback by the blonde’s abruptness. 

 

Steph shakes her head. “Okay, I’m sorry, I’m just like a little stressed right now. Like I wanted to go eat salad like, but like too many people ate from it, so now I’m trying to get a water -“ Steve interrupts her. “It’s just fucking salad.” He states. Tears softly brim Stephanie’s eyes. _This chick is kinda weird_ , Steve thinks to himself. “Anyways....” Steph trails off slightly. 

 

She examines his sunglasses and hair, an odd familiarity to them. “You look kinda familiar, do I know you?” She inquires. “You go to Westside?” Steve asks, not surprised. “Yeah! Go Eagles!” Stephanie’s pep shows through as she smiles a bit. “Okay, yeah, whatever.....I go there too. Who fucking doesn’t go there in this ugly town?” Steve asks her. “I mean, Westside is amazing.” Steph stated. “Okay, whatever.”

 

“So, like, can I have -“ Stephanie starts to talk, her hair getting caught in her lip gloss. She chokes softly as she pulls her hair away from her mouth. “Can I have a water?” Steph asks shyly. “No....” Steve declines her. Steph’s eyebrows furrow, obviously taken aback that her flirting hadn’t exactly worked. “What do you mean ‘no’?” She asks him, bothered. “I mean no, I’m not buying you a water.”

 

“That always works, what the fuck?” Stephanie murmurs under her breath. “You know, I’m smarter than most of the guys you’ve probably slept with, so....just get off my dick, okay?” Steve gets defensive. Stephanie scoffs. “Um, excuse me, the only guy I’ve slept with is my boyfriend Ryan.” Steve rolls his eyes under his shades. “Well, Ryan’s a fucking dick.”

 

Stephanie gasps loudly. “How dare you say that about Ryan?”

 

“Ryan beat me up in a fucking parking lot, okay?” Steve states. Stephanie is a bitter flustered as she replies. “Good on him.” Steve shrugs. “Wasn’t my fault, he fucking attacked me, bitch.” Stephanie ignores him as she pulls out a one hundred bill from her bag to pay for her water. 

 

“Fuck you man, fuck this. I’m going to buy myself another milkshake.” Steve says.  _This bitch is fucking weird, man,_  Steve thinks to himself.  _This is the head cheerleader? Jesus Christ. This town has got issues._

 

Steph pauses, glancing at the watch on Steve’s arm. She needed to get to cheer practice. “Um, excuse me, whatever your name is....” She trails off. “Steve.” He states. “Steve....yeah, well, um, how did you get here?” Steph composes herself, smiling sweetly. “I drove here, in my car.” He says casually. Steph nods. “Great, so do you think you could maybe drive me to cheer practice?” She asks sweetly. “Normally, I would tell you to take a hike, but you have big tits, so yeah, I guess.” 

 

“Alright, lets go!” Steph smiles sweetly. The two make their way out of the mall, heading to the parking lot. They stop in front of a car. It’s rusted and nearly falling apart. Steph raises her eyebrows softly. “So....this is your car?” She asks. Steve nods as he pulls out his keys. “Yeah, what about it?” Steph frowns softly. “I just... I’m used to riding stuff fancier than this.” She sighs, folding her arms across her chest. “Well, do you want to get to the school or not?” 

 

There’s a pause between the two as Stephanie thinks over her options. She didn’t want to be late for practice. “Alright, I guess so.” She says softly. The two climb into the car, Stephanie sitting as far away from Steve as possible. It wreaks of weed. Stephanie clears her throat, flicking on her Walkman, and putting in her headphones. It’s a silent ride as Steve slowly comes to a stop by the field. Stephanie climbs out of the car, but when she turns around, Steve is already driving off. 

 

 

Stephanie shrugs as she turns and makes her way down to the field for practice. Despite wanting to be there originally, Steph now finds herself bored, skimming over the cheer team before finding the coach. Stephanie coughs slightly as she faces the coach. “You know, I’m not - I’m not feeling too well right now, like I’m having a really emotional day. Like, I went to the mall and I saw like where I used to shop with my parents, and I just lost it - you know - I just can’t do this right now. Can I - can I go home?” Stephanie tries to persuade the coach. The coach raises an eyebrow. 

 

“I don’t give a damn how emotional you are. The game is coming up and you’ve gotta be ready as the head cheerleader.” The coach states. “But coach....” Stephanie frowns. “But nothing, you get back onto the field and practice with the girls.” The coach states. Stephanie sighs, turning back to the field. Mid-practice, Stephanie tries to do a back handspring, effectively spraining her ankle. Steph sees her outlet, forcing tears to brim her eyes. “Can I please go home?” She asks the coach in tears. The coach sighs, nodding. “Go ahead home and rest up for the game.” 

 

 

Steve tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his car as The Clash blasts loudly. The sun had set, but he had found himself avoiding his house. Thirty minutes past his curfew, Steve pulls into his driveway, turning off his car. He stumbles out of his car, a bit too high for his own good as he makes his way into the house. He walks carefully, sneaking up the stairs and into his room. He collapses onto his bed, sighing out as he reaches over and presses play on his stereo. Steve rubs his head slightly as he hums to the music. 

 

The door bursts open suddenly, his dad fuming as he turns off the stereo. “You lazy son of a bitch, do you understand I’m trying to sleep after working so hard?” He fumes. Steve rolls his eyes, sitting up. “Yeah, yeah, it’s all about you isn’t it?” Steve retorts. “I don’t need to hear your damn radio.” His dad states. “What did you do at work? Tell me dad, what did you do at work?” Steve starts to get angry, trying to poke at his dad. “I had a hard day -“ His dad goes to continue, but Steve talks over him. “You had a hard day? You had a hard day drinking on the couch?,” His mom walks in,” And fucking other woman?” Steve curses at his dad. 

 

“Honey, what’s going on in here?” She asks naively. “Fuck you too, bitch. When you did get here?” Steve asks loudly. “Our son is being a lazy piece of shit.” His dad says. Steve’s mom looks between the two, landing on Steve. “Steve Sanders! How dare you disrespect your father like that? I thought you were better than this.” She chastises him. “And look at you, are you high?” She reaches for his sunglasses. Steve smacks her hand away. “It’s your fucking fault you raised me to be this way.” He retorts. His mom raises an eyebrow, sighing. “You know what? No more stereo, I’m taking it away.” She says, grabbing the stereo from his bedside. 

 

“Fucking take it, I’ll just take it back, it doesn’t fucking matter.” Steve cusses. Steve’s dad grabs him by the corner, throwing a punch square on his face. His glasses fall off as he cusses to himself, falling onto the floor. His dad continues to beat him as his mom sits there, idly watching. Afterwards, Steve winces as he pulls himself up to his bed, sighing as he lays down. His eye throbs as he drifts off into sleep. 


	2. Sloppy Joes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone at Westside is tense the day of the big Friday night game. Stephanie and Steve get into a little bit of a mess.

“I mean, I think I have to, like, ice it or something.” Stephanie shrugs. Emily nodding empathetically. Stephanie’s eyes trail pass Emily’s shoulder as she sees Steve walk into the classroom, shades resting on his nose. Emily turns around, following her friend’s gaze. “Oh my, God, is that Steve?” She questions. Steph sighs. “Yeah, actually, I talked to him at the mall the other day.” She states. “Ew, did you really?” Emily inquired snobbishly. “Yeah, his car like, is so disgusting.” Her nose crinkled at the thought of it. Emily nods. “I bet, it probably smells like pot.” She scoffs. Steph nods. “It did.”

 

“Oh my, God. I’m so sorry for you.” Emily comforts her best friend. Steph nods. “Yeah, and my ankle still hurts.” Emily frowns. “Oh my, God, I saw that.” She said empathetically. “Yeah, are you ready for the game tonight?” Steph smiled softly. “Of course! Are you, especially with your ankle?” The bell rings before Stephanie can answer as the whole class takes their seats. Stephanie sits next to Emily, tapping her pink pen on her desk. 

 

“Okay, class, go ahead and pass in your report on _Hamlet_.” Mr. Anderson spoke as everyone shuffled to pull out their papers. Stephanie looks a hers, frowning slightly. It definitely wasn’t the best she had done. “Mr. Anderson, can I turn it in Monday cause I didn’t finish the book?” She hears a voice ask. Mr. Anderson sighs. “Again, Steve?” Stephanie chuckles softly to herself. “I promise I finished it and I got 100% on all the quizzes, I just didn’t fucking finish it yesterday.” Steve says casually.  “Well, it better be on my desk, first thing on the morning.” Mr. Anderson states. “I won’t let you down.” Steve says with a grin and throws up some finger guns. 

 

As everyone starts to pass them up, Stephanie quickly turns to the last page, writing down a tiny not in pink pen with a heart. She passes it up casually, resting back in her chair. The teacher introduces the next book,  _A Clockwork Orange_ , before class finishes. The bell rings, Emily and Stephanie going to walk out with each other. “Stephanie?” Mr. Anderson questions. “Yes, Mr. Anderson?” Steph asks. “You and I need to have a little chat.” He states. “Oh...really? I’ll see you later Emily.” She smiles softly to her friend as she faces the teacher. 

 

“You know I can’t accept little notions like that towards me from a student.” He starts. “I cant accept this. If it happens again, I may have to give you a punishment as a detention.” Mr. Anderson states. Steph nods softly. “Do you understand, Stephanie?” He asks. “Okay, Mr. Anderson, I understand.....will you be at the game tonight?” She inquires. The teachers nods as she then scurries off to her next class. 

 

As Steve skips second period, Stephanie walks into speech. She pauses as she realizes she hadn’t prepared, but decided she’s gonna wing it anyways. She gets up in front of the class, smiling. “Lithuania is a great country because it has, you know, the Tasmanian Devil from the  _Looney Tunes_. And it’s a great place to go in, like the summer, and get a nice little tan.” Stephanie continues to bluff smoothly, allowing time for questions at the end. A small sophomore she knows as Heather raises her hand. “Lithuania is a landlocked country.” She states. “Not according to my research, any more questions?” Stephanie smiles, sending a glare to the sophomore. 

 

 

During third period, Steve relaxes in philosophy, high after smoking a joint during second. “Yo, why’d you even take this class?” A classmate beside him asks. Steve shrugs. “I just wanted an easy A.” He lies softly, adjusting the shades on his nose. In reality, Steve had a soft spot for philosophy. It seemed to be something he was good at, especially since he was high most of the time. 

 

 

It came time for lunch, Stephanie walking up to the cafeteria lady. “What do you want? We’re serving sloppy Joe’s.” The lady speaks with a raspy, crude voice. “Um, do you have like an apple or something I can have?” Stephanie asks. “I guess I can check.” The lady says, hobbling about the kitchen to look for an apple. She hobbles back, frowning. “I’m sorry, but I just gave away my last apple, you’re gonna have to take the sloppy joe.” She says. Stephanie frowns. “But, um...I don’t eat that, like it’s too messy, like I have a game tonight.” Stephanie explains. “Well, do you want it or not?” The lady asks. Stephanie sighs. “I guess I’ll take it.” She says. “Well, here you go sweet-cheeks.” The lady hands over a tray of the sloppy joe. 

 

Stephanie sits down with the cheerleaders, chatting with Emily as they check out the football guys, Stephanie particularly eyeing up Ryan Jones. “Oh my, God. So how are you and Ryan doing?” Emily asks playfully. Steph blushes softly. “I mean, things are going well. I mean, he didn’t show up to the mall yesterday, but...” Steph trailed off. “Have you decided to ask why he didn’t show up at the mall?” Emily inquires. Steph shakes her head. “I mean, he’s probably so stressed because of the game tonight, I mean, I know I am, so....it’s fine.” She smiles softly. Steph gets up with her tray, turning. 

 

Steve casually reads his English assignment as best as possible. He was trying to stay as sober as possible during the school days, but it always helped to be high for philosophy. Steve popped a couple painkillers before getting up, walking to make his way to the vending machine. He bumps into Stephanie roughly, her tray tipping as her walk spills all over her. “Oh. My. God. Watch where you’re fucking walking.” She says. “Watch where you’re fucking walking, man.” Steve retorts. “It’s just water.” 

 

Stephanie scoffs. “Yeah, but this is Louis Vuitton.” Steph sighs. “Okay, whatever.” Steve sighs. “You should at least pay for my dry cleaning or something.” She insists. “Okay, whatever, I’m just gonna go, okay?” Steve states, sulking off. Stephanie immediately turns around to Emily, placing down her tray. “Oh my, God! Are you okay?” Emily worries. Stephanie sighs. “I’m not, it’s just, this day has been too much for me. Like, I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to make it to the football game.” Stephanie sniffles. “Okay, well, why don’t we just go to the bathroom and take a breather, okay?” Emily suggests. Stephanie nods as they head off to the girls bathroom. 

 

Steve is standing in the hallway, talking to one of his friends. “I mean, this bitch just flipped on me. Like, it’s just fucking water, dude. Like, it’s no big deal.” Steve says, annoyed. “I know, right.” His friend agrees. “I was just minding my business and this bitch just ran into me and she told me to watch where I’m fucking walking. Like, no man watch where you’re fucking walking.” Steve recaps. “And she went off on me, like, it’s just water. Like, it’s not a big deal. I don’t understand these days why girls just get pissed off at anything.” 

 

Stephanie walks by, hearing Steve as tears start to stream down her face. She runs into the bathroom immediately, trying to keep it together. “Stephanie, it’s okay.” Emily comforts her. “This day couldn’t be any worse. First of all, my English teacher just went off on me for no reason at all, and then like Ryan’s not even talking to me, and then I got water all over my Louis Vuitton sweater.” Stephanie blurts out. “Girl, it’s okay. Just breathe in and out.” Emily comforts her friend. “Stephanie, you should just go up to him and beat him! You tell him!” She hypes up Stephanie. “First, he has you in his disgusting ass weed car and now he spills water on you, you gotta do something!” Emily insists. 

 

Stephanie pushed open the bathroom door, walking directly up to Steve. “How you fucking dare talk about me behind my back? I am the head cheerleader of this school! I am respected here at Westside! I am important here and you can’t just talk about me behind my back like that!” Stephanie fumes. “First of all, I wasn’t talking about you behind your back, I simply told it as it happened. Second of all, it’s just high school. If you spill water one day as a junior in high school, nobodies gonna fucking care. Like, ten days from now, so just take a break, okay?” Steve defends himself, trying to calm her down. Steph tries to hold it in as tears brim her eyes again, speaking before she walks away, “Fuck you, Steve Sanders.” 


	3. Sunglasses at Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the night of the big game at Westside High School. The cheerleaders are out on the track, players on the field, and dealers under the bleachers. Will the game end in rain or shine?

School spirit, body paint, cheerleaders, and drugs under the bleachers. The Eagles are leading the first half of the football game by a margin, Stephanie proudly cheering on her school. She gracefully is able to nail a backflip, the crowd cheering. 

 

Steve relaxes under the bleachers, adjusting his sunglasses despite the dark night sky. His eyes were sensitive because of the weed, and he wanted to conceal his black eye from his dad. Ryan shimmies under the bleachers during half-time, walking up to Steve. “Yo man, you got my shit?” Ryan asks him, glancing around. “I don’t know, do I? Depends, will you beat me the fuck up like you did last time?” Steve asks. “Well, maybe if you don’t give it to me.” Ryan threatens. “Fine, whatever, man. The only reason I still fucking talk to you is because you pay me. Take it and fucking go.” Steve hands over the bag. “Hope your dad fucking catches you.” Steve says softly. “Your girlfriend is fucking crazy too.” Steve tells him before he leaves. 

 

“She's not my girlfriend.” Ryan insists. “Well, you better talk to her about that.” Steve scoffs, leaning back against the bleachers. “Just get back to the fucking game, Ryan.” He says. “You better watch it, Sanders.” Ryan threatens. “Don’t fucking talk to me.” Steve sighs, peaking back through the bleachers towards the field. 

 

The game ends, the Eagles winning by a large margin. Steph packs up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder and pulling on her hoodie. Her mind wanders to when she used to throw parties after games, but she hadn’t since sophomore year. Realizing she didn’t have a ride, she turns to Emily. “Hey girl, can you like drive me home?” Steph asks. Emily frowns softly. “Oh! I’m sorry, I came to the game with my boyfriend George, so....I mean...” She trails off. “Oh, I totally understand.” Stephanie smiles weakly. “Yeah, sorry, maybe next time?” Emily asks. Stephanie nods. “Yeah.” Emily smiles. “Still love you baby, bye!” They kiss each cheek of each other. “Bye.” Steph says softly as Emily heads off. Her eyes scan the stadium, seeing Ryan. She looks the other way, starting to walk as she turns on her walkman and puts in her headphones. 

 

As Steph walks home, it starts to rain moderately. She pulls up her hood tighter, making sure her walkman is protected under her hoodie.  _Africa_ blasts through her headphones as she walks.

 

 

Steve drives in his car, making his way to the rich part of town for a party. He’s able to spot Stephanie walking on the side of the road, contemplating. Steve hits his head against his wheel slightly.  _I fucking shouldn’t, but I fucking should_ , he thinks. Steve begrudgingly honks the horn of his car at Stephanie. She pulls out a headphone, looking towards the car. “What?” She yells over the rain. “Do you want a ride?” He asks, slightly annoyed at himself. “To where?” She inquires. “To your house.” Steve sighs. “Sure, unlock the car.” Steve does, watching her. “Get in.” He says. Stephanie climbs into his car, water dripping off of her hoodie and bag. 

 

Steve glances at her walkman. “What are you listening to?” He asks. “Oh, _Africa_. By Toto.” She states. There’s a pause. “That’s a good song, I guess.” Steve says, starting to drive again. Stephanie scoots closer, putting a headphone carefully in his ear. She pauses. “Do you even know where I live?” Stephanie asks as she looks towards him. “I was just about to ask, but since you decided to get all on my dick about it...” Steve sighs. “Well, I mean, I thought you would’ve know because you were always at my parties before my parents died.” She trailed off. 

 

“Oh, those were yours?” Steve asks. “Probably made a lot of money there, didn’t you?” Steph asks him. “Not really, you mostly hang out with pretentious assholes who don’t wanna buy my drugs.” He says. She sighs. “Well, that’s their fault.” She let’s slip out. Steve quickly notices. “Did you just defend me?” He asks. Stephanie stutters a bit before she angrily looks out the window. She sighs, blushing slightly. “So, I guess you know where you’re going now?” She asks. 

 

Steve shrugs. “Yeah, I think so.” There’s an awkward pause as the two listen to the music. The rain progressively gets heavier and heavier. Stephanie pulls out her headphones, stopping the walkman. “It’s raining pretty bad, so I don’t think my car can handle it, wanna just pull over somewhere? You might get home a little later, but I also don’t wanna breakdown.” Steve says. “Yeah, I mean, my parents are dead so it’s not like they’ll really be worrying where I’m at.” Stephanie nods. 

 

“Alright, Great.” Steve pulls over, putting the car in park. “What about your parents?” Steph inquires. “Don’t worry about it.” Steve says softly, adjusting his shades. “What do you mean don’t worry about it? It can’t be worse than my situation.” Stephanie pesters him. “I just mean it’s none of your business.” Steve explains. There’s a pause. “So, where do you live?” She asks casually. “I don’t know, I’d say like four or five blocks from here.” Steve says. Steph nods. “Oh, so like the average part of town. I know some people who live around there. Some girls on the cheer team.” She explains. “Hmm, really.” Steve tries to contribute. “Yeah, Do you know them?” Steph asks. “Not really, I don’t spend too much time in my house anyways, so....” 

 

“Oh, where do you usually spend your time at?” Steph pushes him. “Where-ever I feel like it.” Steve states. There’s another awkward pause. “Have you met Ryan?” Steph asks Steve, trying to keep up the conversation. “Ryan Jones?  _The_  Ryan?” Steve asks. Steph nods. “Yeah,  _the_  Ryan Jones. Football player.” She smiles. “Oh, I’ve met him.” Steve says. “Yeah? Isn’t he nice?” Steph glows slightly at the mention of her boyfriend. “Well, Ryan, didn’t like specifically what he asked for to buy from me, and then he broke my nose and beat me up in a parking lot.” Steve explains. Steph rolls her eyes. “I mean, he can be, like, picky sometimes. It’s not too bad. He’s a really nice guy when you get to know him and you’re not just selling drugs to him.” Stephanie insists. “You know what? I could say something, but I’m feeling really nice today. You’re lucky I even picked you up at all, so I’m just not gonna say anything.” Steve sighs. “Well, if you don’t want me here, I’ll leave.” Stephanie states. “Okay, have fun walking home in the torrential downpour.” Steve says. Stephanie opens the door, getting out. She forcefully slams the door shut, Steve then quickly driving away. 

 

Stephanie folds her arms across her chest, sighing. “I shouldn’t have done that.” She whispers to herself. It starts thundering and lightning worse as she makes her way home, Steve driving home angrily. Stephanie runs into the house, looking the door behind her. She quickly runs up to her room, slamming the door shut. Salty tears combine with the rain on her cheeks as she reaches in her pocket for her walkman, but it’s gone. Her stomach drops as she realizes she must have left it in Steve’s car. Steph lays down in her bed, her clothes still soaked as she continues to cry until she drifts off to sleep. 

 


	4. Detention and Smoking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie manages to get herself into trouble on Monday at school. However, someone is there to keep her company.

 

“I highly doubt that you did finish the book.” Mr. Anderson glances from the paper to Steve. “What? No, I finished it.....just my writing skills aren’t up to par. But I promise you once you read past the first paragraph....A+.” Steve explains. “You sure about this?” Mr. Anderson questions the boy. “I’m pretty sure.” Steve says confidently.  “Alright....” Mr. Anderson trails off. 

 

Stephanie walks into first period English class, immediately confronting Steve. “Steve.” She says, raising an eyebrow accusingly at him. “What? I forgot you were in this class, honestly.” Steve sighs as he looks at the blonde. Stephanie rolls her eyes at the comment. “Do you have something for me?” She prompts him. “Are you trying to buy drugs from me right now? Is that what you’re trying to do?” Steve asks, not too invested in the conversation. “No, I don’t do drugs.” Steph pauses, sighing angrily. “I left my Walkman in your car. My parents gave it to me before they died, so it’s important to me.” She states. 

 

“Oh, yeah. It should be in my passengers seat. You can just go get it after school.” Steve realizes. “I cant wait until after school....” Steph trails off slightly. “Well, then you can go get it now, I don’t fucking care.” He gets slightly defensive. 

 

_Ring! Ring! Ring!_

 

The bell rings loudly, signaling the start of first period. Stephanie sighs angrily as she heads to her seat, sitting down. “Everyone go ahead and pass up your homework I assigned over the weekend.” Mr. Anderson announces. Stephanie immediately raises her hand. “Mr. Anderson.” She says. He calls on her. “Yes, Stephanie?” He asks. 

 

“I didn’t do it, like, I had a really bad weekend, like, I had to walk home from the game in the rain, and you said you were gonna be there, but you weren’t, but that’s beside the point, and I lost my Walkman, that my parents, you know, gave to me before they died, I just had a really bad weekend.” Tears start forming in Stephanie’s eyes as she explains it to him. They start to fall softly as she waits for his answer. “It’s okay, just turn it in tomorrow.” Mr. Anderson states. Stephanie nods, wiping her tears away. 

 

 

He continues with class, Stephanie raising her hand again. “Mr. Anderson?” She asks again. “Can I go to the bathroom?” She asks politely. “No.” He says plainly. “But I need to go, like right now.” Stephanie argues. “Well, you should’ve gone before you came into this class.” Mr. Anderson sighs. “Well…maybe you shouldn’t be such a horrible English teacher.” Stephanie retorts, clearly annoyed. “Excuse me, young lady?” Mr. Anderson asks, his full attention now on the blonde. Stephanie rolls her eyes as Emily nudges her foot slightly.

 

“You heard what I said.” Stephanie states, folding her arms across her chest. “Clearly I did, and that serves you a detention.” Mr. Anderson says strictly. “What?” Stephanie asks, slightly aghast. “You heard what I said.” The teacher mocks her slightly. “But like, I’ve never got a detention in my life.” Stephanie’s eyebrows furrow slightly. “Well, you got one now.” Mr. Anderson states.

 

 

Steve leaned against the wall as the warning bell rang for his next class. He glanced around the hallway, the number of people dwindling as people ran to get to their classes. Steve, however, rested nonchalantly, deciding what to do. Really, he didn’t feel like going to class at the moment. Steve pushed off of the wall softly, strolling through the empty halls. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, glancing around as he turned the corner.

 

“Excuse me, young man?” He heard someone call from behind him. Steve carefully turned around, smiling crookedly. He face the thin lady that he recognized as the secretary. He pushed down his shades to get a good look at her before pushing them back up. “Can I help you, _ma’am_?” He teased slightly, chuckling to himself. “Don’t you have a class to be in right now?” She asked, approaching him. Steve sighed. “Yeah, and?” He didn’t really care if he got detention. It just gave him more of an excuse to not be at home. Plus, the proctor always fell asleep and it wasn’t _that_ difficult to skip out.

 

“I’m going to have to take to you the office. After me.” She stated, nodding her head a bit. Steve sighed, following after her casually. He wasn’t exactly concerned.

 

 

It was lunch, regrettably. Steve was trying to mind his own business when Stephanie walked up to him, a small smile forming with her glossed lips. “So, my Walkman?” She pestered him, peering at him with her blue eyes. Steve sighed slightly, his hands in the pockets of his jean jacket. “’Kay, fine. Come on, let’s go.” He pushes off of the wall. Stephanie smiles successfully, glancing back to her friend. Emily was sure to mouth her an accusatory question, “What are you doing?” Stephanie merely shrugged, pushing her short blonde hair off of her shoulder as she followed Steve out of the cafeteria.

 

Steve and Steph easily make their way out to his car, standing by the door. Steve attempts to tug on his car door, but to no avail. He turns to Stephanie. “The door is stuck.” He states simply. For a split second Steve can see fear cross her face. She quickly composes herself. “What do you mean the door is stuck?” She asks him.

 

“I mean the door is stuck. As in, I can’t get it open, so I can’t get your shit out of my car.” Steve says, clearly annoyed by her. “Well, I need my Walkman now, like – I can’t – what am I supposed to do?” Stephanie asks him. “What do you want me to fucking do? Break the window?” Steve asks angrily, his voice rising as he gets increasingly more annoyed with the cheerleader. “Yeah.” Stephanie says obviously. “No, okay?  Worked hard for this car. I paid for it with my own money, so - ” Stephanie quickly interrupts him.

 

“Yeah, well, I can pay to get it fixed.” She states simply. Steve rolls his eyes. “I know you won’t, so I’ll just work on getting it unstuck at home and give it to you tomorrow. I’m sick and tired of this, okay?” Stephanie realizes she can’t push him any further. “Okay, I’m gonna go back to lunch.” She says softly.

 

 

Stephanie sits nervously at the front of the classroom after school, her bag resting by her feet. She was there early, and now she had over an hour of detention that would be starting soon. She had tried to be nice to the proctor when she walked in, but was immediately shut up. So now, here she sat, silent. Steve, however, walks in, barely on time. He was definitely high. He looks over to Stephanie, smiling slightly. “Hello, stranger.” He comments.

 

Stephanie leans in towards him a bit, lowering her voice. “Are you – are you high?” She whispers to him. Steve inhales slightly before clearing his throat. “What?” He asks. Stephanie sighs, talking louder now. “I said, are you high?” She questions again. “Maybe, uh, I’m gonna go….take my seat.” He’s clearly out of it as he heads to the back of the classroom, sitting down. Stephanie quickly picks up her things, following him to the back of the classroom and sitting next to him.

 

“What are you doing?” Steve asks her. “I don’t know anyone else here. Who am I supposed to talk to?” She says shyly. “Fair point.” He says. “I mean, if I had my Walkman I wouldn’t have to-” Stephanie starts. “Just stop – you’ll probably live if you don’t have it for, like, three days.” He says. “I don’t think I will.” Stephanie murmurs. Steve continues on his rant. “You ever heard of vinyl records – ever use those?” He interrogates her. “Yeah.” She says obviously. “Well, then use them.” Steve states, annoyed. “Those aren’t portable!” She defends herself.

 

“You just – you can wait until you get home, okay?” Steph sighs, defeated. “Okay.” She says softly. “It’s just my parent gave it to me before they died.” Stephanie murmurs. She regrets her decision to move to the back, playing with a loose string on her sweater. Ever since she had met Steve it seemed her life had been crazy. _I’m in detention._ Steph thought to herself.

 

Stephanie glances up to see the proctor is asleep, magazine askew on her chest as her head tilts back slightly. She sniffs a bit, smelling smoke. Stephanie looks over to Steve, her eyes widening. He was casually taking a drag of his cigarette, blowing smoke out into the classroom. “Steve, you – you can’t smoke in school.” She warns him. Steve glances at her. “I can, and I did.” He states firmly. “I don’t know what your problem is.” He murmurs as he then takes another drag. “I’m trying to not get another detention, and you’re gonna, like, set off the fire alarms or something.” Steph says, glancing to the proctor. Steve licks his lips slightly. “Okay, whatever.” He says. Steph gets up, worriedly trying to air the smoke away from the fire alarms. She walks over to the windows, easily opening one. “Steve, sit here.” She demands, placing her hands on her hips. Steve looks over to the blonde, his eyes dragging from her head to her feet and back up. “Sit by the window.” She says. “’Kay, fine.” He says, getting up and leaning by the window. Stephanie sighs, folding her arms across her chest as she leans by Steve, avoiding looking at him. Steve takes the chance to actually look in the daylight. Her blue eyes read some posters across the room as she blows a strand of her hair out of her face.

 

“Uh…do you wanna get out of here, maybe?” He offers out of the blue. Steph glances over at him, her shoulders relaxing slightly. “Yeah, kinda.” She admits. Her eyes drift over to the sleeping proctor. “But it’s detention. She’s gonna wake up and catch us and then well, like have another detention, and I can’t have that for my record.” Steph sighs. “Hey!” Steve yells suddenly, loudly, clapping his hands in the air. Steph jumps slightly as her eyes jump to the proctor who is still sleeping soundly. “I think we’re fine, let’s go.” Steve grins slightly. “But Steve – you can’t just leave.” Stephanie tries to protest as Steve is already making his way to the door.  “I could just leave you behind!” Steve calls as he heads out the door. Stephanie rushes to grab her bag, following after Steve quickly.


	5. Back to the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Stephanie have spare time on their hands after breaking out of detention - what will the two get up to now? Warning: Domestic abuse/violence

The two teenagers quickly make their way out to the parking lot, stopping at Steve’s car. “I can’t believe I’m asking you this, but do you wanna…maybe go back to my place and watch a movie or something?” Steve sighs, looking at the blonde. Stephanie thought of her choices, she hadn’t had a ride home at the moment. “Yeah, sure.” Steph said softly. She cleared her throat. “Do you like movies or something?” Stephanie inquired. Surely there was more to him than just smoking and skipping out on class, right? “Yes, I do, actually.” He stated absentmindedly, Stephanie smiling proudly to herself. It was fun to try and break through his many layers, even if she had to bear with the more….unpleasurable facets of his personality.

 

Steve struggled for a bit to get the door open, but with one final tug, he did it. Stephanie heads over to the passenger’s seat, opening the door with one tug. Her blue eyes immediately land on her Walkman, sitting on the seat. “Oh my, God, my sweet baby.” Stephanie cooed, scooping up her Walkman as if it were an actual child. She checked every inch of it for any sign of a bump or scratch, but there were none. She clips the device to her skirt, easily hanging the headphones over her neck. “Weird…” Steve murmurs slightly as he gets into the car, shutting his door lightly behind him. Stephanie also climbs into the car, brushing her skirt down softly as she closed the door behind her.

 

Steve reaches forward, fiddling with his audio system a bit before driving out of the school parking lot. _Just What I Needed_ by The Cars started to blast through the speakers. “What is this?” Stephanie inquires as Steve taps his fingers on the steering wheel to the beat. He raises his eyebrows at her, seemingly shocked. “You’ve never heard of The Cars? You don’t know this song?” Steve asks, surprised at the blonde. “No, I don’t.” Stephanie says to him. Steve reaches to the knob, turning the music up even louder. “Don’t you think that’s a little bit too loud?” Stephanie questions him over the loud music. “It’s a good song, man, just don’t worry about it.” Steve reassures her, putting his hands back on the wheel. “Um…do your windows roll down?” Stephanie questions. Steve nods as he goes to roll his own window down.

 

It goes down smoothly as Steph grabs her handle, quickly attempting to roll the window down. Stephanie easily muscles down her window, thankfully breathing in the thin, fall air. Steph smiles a bit to herself, sticking her hand out the window. She watches as the buildings and street zoom past, moving her hand slowly in the wind. The air was pushing her hair out of her face slightly and Steve glanced over at her. It was refreshing to see the blonde with a look other than annoyance on her face. She was actually calm for once, a smile on her face as she gazed out the window.

 

Steve hated to admit it, but there was something intriguing about her. He couldn’t figure out if it were the fact that she was the one girl who hadn’t messed with him yet, or that she just happened to keep showing up in his life. There was something complex to her, more than just the fact that she had dead parents. Stephanie always had something to say, and, God, he hated that sometimes, but there was also something to it. She didn’t just let him push her around. _Hell_ , Steve thought, _maybe it was just the fact he was still buzzed from the joint he had smoked earlier._

Stephanie leaned back, pulling her feet up onto the dashboard. She closed her eyes softly, relaxing for once since everything in her life had gone hectic. Stephanie couldn’t really decide if Steve was a breath of fresh air, or slightly suffocating. Whatever he was, Stephanie had to admit, he was intoxicating. Her whole life, she had been friends with the same people in the same town at the same school. She saw Steve around sometimes; she was well aware that her friends did drugs. A lot of people did in this town, but Stephanie was able to stay away from them. She was mildly surprised at the fact that Steve hadn’t tried to pressure her into them already, him being the main drug dealer and all.

_I don’t mind you comin’ here, and wastin’ all my time, time, ‘cause when you’re standin’ oh so near, I kinda lose my mind._

Steph bopped her head to the song, the car coming to a stop as she opened her eyes. The two climb out of the car, Stephanie’s eyes dragging along the white suburban home. It wasn’t much different from all the houses around it. Steve pushed open the door to the empty house, his parents not home at the moment. Stephanie followed him in, shivering slightly from the cool fall breeze. The house isn’t in the best shape, but Stephanie doesn’t say anything as she follows him to the living room. She places her bag down on the couch, Steve clearing his throat. “Welcome to my humble abode.” He says softly, looking at her. He watched as her bright blue eyes examined her surroundings. “Oh…it’s cute.” She smiles softly.

 

“That’s what they all say.” Steve murmurs slightly. “Anyways… do you want anything to drink?” Steve asks. Stephanie is suddenly shy, looking up at him. “Um…do you have water?” She asks softly, biting her bottom lip. Steve’s eyes glanced at her lip before catching himself. “Sure, I’ll get it fresh from the sink.” Steve offered sarcastically, watching as the blonde’s nose suddenly crinkled. “Oh, never mind.” She said softly, looking away from him. Steve heads over to the VHS tapes, looking through his catalogue of movies. “What do you wanna watch?” He asks casually, his eyes presumably skimming the titles under her dark sunglasses.

 

“Do you have like, _Dirty Dancing_?” Stephanie asks, saying the first title to come to mind. Steve sighs. “Are you kidding me? That movies like mediocre at best.” Steve rolls his eyes. “Well, you asked me.” Stephanie sighs, plopping down on one end of the couch. “I’m just saying, it has a good soundtrack, but the plots kinda stale if you ask me.” Steve explains. His eyes continue to look through the titles. “What about _Back to the Future_?” He asks. “Oh, yeah! The car in that is like, really cool.” Stephanie smiled slightly, trying to make some sort of conversation with him. “Okay, so I’m gonna take that as you haven’t seen it before, so get ready to have your shit rocked ‘cause it’s a great movie.” Steve smiles, pulling out the VHS and putting it into the system.

 

Steve sits down on the opposite end of the couch, watching as the movie started. Stephanie crossed her legs, trying to focus on the movie. _Why am I even here right now?_ Stephanie thought to herself, trying to ignore the uncomfortable energy between the two. _It’s better than detention, I guess._ Her eyes wonder over to Steve, watching him watch the movie. Stephanie attempts to wrack her mind for something to say, but she thought it was best if she stayed silent. She looked back towards the telly. Steve’s eyes drift over to Stephanie, also trying to decide if he should say anything. _Come on, Steve, say something._ He tries to pep talk himself. He sighs, looking back to the television as the awkwardness pursued. He bites his lip slightly, thinking. What did Stephanie like talking about?

 

“So, uh, you seem to talk a lot about Ryan? Why don’t you tell me more about Ryan, you know since you think he’s so nice and all?” Steve asks her. A small smile forms on Stephanie’s face as she looked over at him. “Oh, yeah! I mean, we hang out all the time, and things are going pretty well between us. We’re thinking about doing a costume together for Halloween.” She bluffs, smiling sweetly. “Really? Because I’ve never seen you two interact once.” Steve interrogates her softly. “Oh, I mean, he likes to keep it on the down low at school.” Steve nods, glancing from the movie to Steph. “I think, and I know you don’t want to take advice from me, but I think you should breakup with him.” Steve tells her.

 

Stephanie seemed slightly puzzled for a moment. What was Steve on about? Why wouldn’t he want them to be together? She scoffs slightly. “Why do you think that?” She frowns. “I don’t know, it just seems kinda…weird that I’ve never seen you interact, and every time I try to say anything that is 100% true about Ryan you just tell me that it’s not.” Steve explains to her, looking over to see the blonde scrambling for words. “Well, I mean, Ryan is a nice guy, and he’s a football player, and I’m a cheerleader, so that’s just how it’s supposed to work, you know?” She says softly. Her eyes drift over to Steve, who nods, seeming a bit annoyed. “Okay, whatever, but when your relationship crashes and burns, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.” Steve warns. Steph nods, looking back to the movie. “Yeah, whatever.” She says.

 

“After this day, we're not friends, okay?” It hurt Steph a bit to say it, and she almost hoped that Steve would put up a fight. “Oh, I never said that we’re friends, I just felt like doing something nice, I guess.” Steve covers up. He felt a slight twinge of disappointment in his stomach. Stephanie nods. “I’ll like pay you back or something. Like, gas money, I don’t know.” She added on. “Alright.” Steve sighs. The two both look to the movie once more. The two can hear the sound of a car pulling up, an engine turning off. “Oh, fuck. You’ve gotta get out, like, right now.” Steve said, standing up from his place on the couch. Stephanie starts to protest, Steve immediately shutting her up. “No, like, I can’t explain, just go out the back.” Steve rushes, pulling Stephanie up and shoving her bag into her hands. “You know how to get home from here?” He asks quickly, shoving her towards the backdoor. “Yeah, I think so.” Stephanie says, unsure as Steve glances back to the front door. He can hear it opening.

 

“I just, I can’t explain it right now, and I’m really sorry – I hate to do this to you, but you gotta go.” Stephanie fumbles to put her bag on her back, a tube of lip gloss falling out unbeknownst to them. She rushes out the back door, quietly making her way to the road to walk home. Her hands fumbled for the headphones of her Walkman, putting them in her ears.

 

Steve’s dad walks in, seeing a flash of blonde hair as Steve quickly leans against the back door. He breathes heavily, grinning slightly at his dad. “Hey dad.” He says, trying to seem as casual as possible. “Who was that?” He immediately asks, dropping his coat and bag onto the kitchen table. “No one.” Steve says softly. “Are you sure? I’m pretty sure I just saw someone leave this house. Who was that?” His voice rises slowly as he takes a step towards Steve. “It’s – It’s no one, just don’t worry about it.” Steve tries to get his dad off of his case. “Well, I feel like I should know since someone was in _my_ house, and you _know_ the rules!” His dad exclaims angrily.

 

“I really _don’t_ know the rules, you really haven’t put any in place.” Steve sighs slightly as his dad seems to be off of his case. His eyes scour the room, landing on a thin silver tube of lip gloss. “Excuse me, what is this?” Steve’s dad asks, scooping up the tube and brandishing it to his son. Steve internally cursed. He had two options: claim it was a friends and be accused for sticking his dick in a girl, or say it’s his and be accused of being gay. Steve sighed. “It’s a – a friends.” He said. “A ‘friends’, huh? You know what happens when you do that? She’ll end up pregnant and you’ll have to deal with the kid the rest of your life! That’s what happened with you!” His dad yelled at him. “Oh yeah, as if I haven’t heard this on before.” Steve murmurs, rolling his eyes. “Don’t talk back to me!” His dad warned. “Yeah, whatever.” Steve murmured, trying to go to grab the lip gloss.

 

A fist hit Steve square in the eye, sending him stumbling what slightly. He blinked, dizzy as his glasses fell off. He could see the blood dripping on the floor. “Shit – ” Steve was cut off by yet another punch. He fell to the floor with a grunt, groaning as he rolled onto his back. Without a word, his dad threw the tube of lip gloss on his chest, turning around and stalking off to his room. Steve sat up, wincing as his head pounded loudly. He grabbed his sunglasses, cursing at the broken frames. He put them on anyways, holding the tube of lip gloss in his hands. Blood dripped from his nose silently and onto his pants.


	6. Like a Record, Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve puts up a cold front as Stephanie attempts to get through to him. A sophomore in one of Steve's classes gets on his nerves. Stephanie and Steve decide to try and make up by going to the mall after school.

“Steve, did, like, everything go okay? Like, I think I dropped something at your house.” Stephanie asked Steve shyly as he walked into English for first period. He looked at her through his shaded glasses. His slightly warm demeanor from yesterday had changed as he now felt more closed off than ever. There was a slight frown on Stephanie’s face. Had she done something wrong? She thought they had been becoming sort of friends, despite the earlier agreement that they weren’t.

 

“Look, I just think it’s best if we just…don’t talk for a while.” Steve said to her. Stephanie nodded slightly, hoping he couldn’t tell that her face fell a bit. Steve reached into the pocket of his jean jacket, grabbing the tube of lip gloss and holding it out to her. “Here you go.” He states, eyes looking at her behind his shades. Stephanie grabbed the lip gloss, Steve heading to his seat in the back of the classroom. Steph inhaled softly before turning and sitting down in her usual seat, next to Emily. “So, why are you talking to Steve?” Emily inquires with slight disgust.

 

Stephanie glances at her friend, shoving her lip gloss into her backpack. “He just – he got me out of detention, that’s it. Okay?” Stephanie attempted to convince both herself and her friend. “Really?” Emily asked, surprised as she glances back to Steve. “Yeah.” Stephanie replies coldly, really not in the mood to entertain her friend. “So why didn’t I see you yesterday? You didn’t answer any of my calls.” Emily continues. “I was just busy, I had to do my English homework. You know, ‘cause I didn’t do it during the weekend.” Stephanie stated, putting her bag in the floor.

 

“Really? ‘Cause I heard word that you went somewhere with Steve after school.” Emily pushes. Stephanie takes a deep breath. “No, he just got me out of detention and I went home.” Stephanie answers, looking over to her friend. “Okay…if that’s what you say. I just really don’t want you to ruin your reputation if you’re around him.” Emily says, seemingly showing some genuine concern for her friend. Or rather, her friend’s reputation. “Yeah, you’re right.” Stephanie says, giving her friend a soft smile. Emily seems to perk up at her friend’s words, smiling widely. “Okay, I still love you.” She smiles at the blonde. Stephanie nods. “Love you too.” She states, the bell ringing loudly.

 

 

Steve tapped his foot lightly on the floor as he tried to focus on his math quiz. His head was pounding loudly, his left eye sore and stinging. On top of that, he couldn’t help but have his mind drift off to Stephanie. It was probably for the best that he told her to stop seeing him for a while. He couldn’t help but think about what she had said yesterday. _He’s a football player, and I’m a cheerleader, so that’s just how it’s supposed to work, you know?_ He bit his lip softly, looking up from his math quiz. His eyes frantically searched around the room, masked by the shades resting on his nose. He glanced at the girl sitting next to him, already finished as she glanced over her sheet.

 

“Hey, could you tell me the answer to this problem?” He asked her quietly. She glared over at him. “Shh.” She quickly shushed him, Steve rolling his eyes. “Can you just tell me the fucking answer?” He asked, frustrated at the girl already. She shook her head no, looking back over her answers. Steve looked up at the teacher, who was reading something at his desk. Steve quickly leaned over, pulling the paper from her desk and onto his. He quickly copied down the answers, making sure to put at least one wrong. He wasn’t a complete genius in math, after all. However, he did end up getting an A.

 

 

“I’m still no very comfortable with the fact that you cheated off of my math quiz.” The girl told Steve after class, her hands holding onto the straps of her purple backpack. “Did you get caught?” Steve sighs. “No.” The girl says with a small frown. “Did the teacher say anything?” He continues. She says no again. “Then its fine.” Steve concluded, shrugging. “Well, not really because you cheated. You don’t deserve that grade if you just looked off of mine.” The girl protested. “Don’t ask, don’t tell. It’s no big deal, Heather. Just no one has to know about it.” Steve told the sophomore, raising an eyebrow slightly. Her constant pestering was furthering his headache. _God, women are fucking crazy_ , he thought to himself. “Well, I know about it, and I don’t like it.”

 

Stephanie walked up to the two, immediately looking at the girl. “Is he giving you trouble?” Stephanie asks Heather, cocking an eyebrow slightly. Steve looked to the cheerleader, noting her tense posture towards him. _She must’ve been mad, or something_ , he thought. “Yes.” Heather sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. Stephanie looks to Steve, then back to Heather. “What’d he do?” She questions. “He cheated off of my math quiz.” Heather stated angrily, glaring at the druggie across from her. “And you weren’t okay with it?” Stephanie furthers, hoping to bug Steve. “Of course not!” Heather exclaims, as if it’s obvious. It really was, but Stephanie was hoping to get a rise out of Steve. She was mad, not only at the fact that they weren’t talking, but also by the fact that he didn’t seem bothered by it. “Well…why don’t you just tell the teacher then?” Stephanie suggested, hearing Steve sigh behind her. “I could…” Heather seemed to be contemplating her options. “Yeah, get Steve in trouble.” Steph sent a glare to the boy behind her.

 

“I don’t care ‘cause I’ll just go to detention and then I’ll leave again, so it really doesn’t matter…” Steve murmured. The two girls looked at him, both angry for very separate reasons. “Rebel scum.” Heather murmured, glaring at the boy. “I’m sorry, what?” Steve had heard a lot of slurs and insults in his life, but this was a new one. Stephanie also turned her head to the girl, confused. “It’s Star Wars, you guys ever seen Star Wars?” There’s a pause between the three. “Well, now I wish I hadn’t.” Steve mumbles. Heather rolls her eyes, turning and walking away from the two juniors.

 

Stephanie looks over to Steve, at the sunglasses resting on his nose. “Why do you always wear sunglasses?” She questioned, despite the fact that they weren’t on good terms. “Well, do you really wanna know?” Steve asks abruptly, seemingly wanting to get out of the conversation as soon as possible. “I asked, didn’t I?” Stephanie retorts, looking at him. “Well, sometimes, when I get high, the sunlight bothers my eyes, if you really want to know, I guess.” Steve rambles slightly, fiddling slightly with the glasses on his nose.

 

There was a pause of silence, but Stephanie wasn’t ready to leave the conversation. “I’ve never done any drugs.” She states, looking at the literal drug dealer in front of her. “Well…do – do you want to?” Steve seems slightly reluctant to ask, but does anyways. Stephanie’s eyes widened as she started to panic slightly. “I – I gotta get to class.” She says quickly. Steve rose an eyebrow. “School just let out.” He says flatly. “I gotta go, I need to walk home.” She says softly, nodding as if to convince herself as well as Steve. “Okay, I mean, suit yourself.” There’s a pause between them; Stephanie isn’t leaving. “I could give you ride, if you really want to, but I mean – if you just want to walk home – ” Stephanie quickly interrupts him. “You’ll probably get in trouble again…unless you wanna…” She trailed off, playing with her blonde hair slightly. “Okay, let’s go.” Steve mumbles, tugging his head towards the direction of his car.

 

After a silent car ride, Steve pulls up to Stephanie’s house, parking. “Alright, get out. See you tomorrow.” Steve says abruptly. Steph reaches for the door handle, pausing. “So that’s it? You’re not gonna…” She trails off, she didn’t know exactly what she was looking for. An apology maybe? “What? What are you talking about?” Steve asks, looking at her through his shades. “I just,” Stephanie breathes in softly, “I’m sorry if anything happened with your dad, because of me.” She said softly, her eyes suddenly doe-like. Steve couldn’t help himself from look at her blue eyes. He shook his head, looking away from her and to his steering wheel.

 

“It’s fine. He’s an asshole anyways, so fuck him, I guess.” Steve said, seemingly unaffected by anything that may have happened to him. Stephanie nodded, thinking carefully. “Do you wanna…hang out, or something?” She asked, mumbling so Steve could just barely hear her. Steve looks at his watch that he doesn’t have on his wrist. “I mean, I got some time on my hands, you got some time on your hands. I guess.” Steve agreed. There seemed to be a sudden burst of energy in her. “The pool’s still open, because it hasn’t been closed for the fall yet, so…” Stephanie trailed off. “Or we could do something actually fun.” Steve scoffed. Steph looked at him. “Like what?” Steph asked.

 

Steve’s mind trailed for a second. He would usually suggest smoking some weed, or doing some sort of other drug, but he knew Stephanie wouldn’t want to. And, well, he kinda liked her, so he wanted to respect that.

 

“We’ll go to the mall.” Steve suggests. The idea makes Stephanie smile a bit as she nods, buckling it seatbelt. “Yeah, sure.” She smiled. Steve starts driving, reaching forward and turning his music on. _You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)_ starts blasting through the speakers. “I love this song!” Stephanie beamed, bopping her head to the music as she started to mouth the words. “As expected.” Steve says, although it’s more light-hearted, grinning slightly. “You don’t like it? It’s so good.” Stephanie asks Steve. “I never said I didn’t like it.” Steve said as he pulled out of her driveway, and onto the main roads.

 

Stephanie starts playfully dancing and singing the words to the song, Steve glancing at her. “Cut it out.” He tries to hide the smile creeping up onto his lips. “You spin me right round, baby, right round like a record, baby, right round, round, round.” Stephanie sings with a smile on her lips. She reaches over, ruffling Steve’s brown hair slightly, singing still. “Don’t touch me.” Steve said, a smile on his lips as he tried to focus on the road. “I got to be your friend now, baby, and I would like to move in just a little bit closer.” Stephanie teased, singing the lyrics as she bops her head. Steve smiles a bit, daring to bop his head slight to the song.

 

“Oh! You mentioned you had records, right?” Stephanie questions him. “Yeah, I have some.” Steve nods. “How many? I mean, like, good songs like this?” She questions him, her head tilting slightly. “Sure.” Steve complies. “A lot of them were my dad’s.” Steve says. “Think I could hear them sometime?” Stephanie asked, seemingly moving a bit closer to him. There’s a pause. “Yeah, um… you could come over tomorrow, if you want.” Steve offers, glancing over at her, parking the car at the mall. Stephanie smiles proudly, hoping out of the car. “Come on, Steve.” She smiles, heading forward to the mall. Steve got out of the car, watching her walk happily in front of him, a pep in her step. Stephanie Wilson was really something else.

 


	7. Date Night?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie tries to think of a way to repay Steve for getting her out of detention. Emily, as per usual, does her best to annoy Steve and Stephanie. Some new revelations are made as Stephanie finally finds her way home.

“You wanna spare a cigarette?” The old homeless guy asks Steve. The man waits for Steve, and Stephanie decides to strike up a conversation. “What’s your name?” She asks politely. Steve looks to the blonde. “Stephanie, you’re gonna have a fucking conversation with him? Let’s just keep walking.” Steve said, lowering his voice a bit. “I’ve been called by many names.” The guy says wearily, looking between the two teenagers. “But they call me Stoney.” He smiles a toothy grin at the two. “Sounds a bit like Steve.” Stephanie tries to further the conversation. “It really doesn’t.” Steve protests as Stoney asks yet again for a cigarette.

 

“You gotta cigarette?” Steph nudged Steve a bit as she asked him. “You,” Steve sighs, shaking his head, “Whatever.” He reaches into his pocket, pulling a cigarette from his pack. He holds it out to Stoney without looking him in the eye. Stoney shakily reached over, grabbing the cigarette between his two fingers. “You wanna light my cigarette for me?” Stoney inquires, putting the cigarette between his teeth. Steve awkwardly digs into his pocket again, flicking his lighter on and holding it up to the cigarette, getting uncomfortably close to the old man. Stephanie watches the awkward eye contact between the two. “Thanks, man.” Stoney says shakily. Steve nods, grabbing Stephanie by the hand and dragging her into the mall.

 

They walk in, Steve quickly letting go of her hand as the two decided where they wanted to go. Stephanie glances around the busy walkways, her eyes spotting her friend. Steve follows her eyes, clearing his throat. Steph nudges Steve slightly. “We should go into P.C. Jenny’s.” She offers the nearest store possibly, trying to avoid the confrontation of her friend. “’Kay, fine, sure.” Steve shrugs. Stephanie quickly starts to push Steve towards the store. She can hear Emily call for her, but pretends she doesn’t hear it, shoving Steve into the shop. Their eyes glance around as Stephanie smiles at the homecoming dresses that are put out. The dance was approaching soon, and she had completely forgot.

 

They walk deeper into the store, Steve messing around as he pulled up a ridiculous looking shirt. “Think this would look good on me?” He joked, grinning at Stephanie. She looked over at him, not quite sure if he was being serious or not. “Totally?” She questioned slightly. He rolled his eyes, placing it back. “Shut the fuck up.” He chuckled. “I told you it’d look nice!” She protested. Steve nodded. “I was joking.” He smiled at her and Stephanie giggle slightly.

 

The two walk around a bit more. “See anything you like? I mean, I got you detention, so…” She trails off, Steve glancing at her slightly. “Well, shit, dude…” Steve started to look around. Steve was thinking about just telling her not to worry about it, but instead he picks the most expensive thing. However, before they can check out, Stephanie has a realization. “Wait, there’s a music store. You could pick out a vinyl.” She smiles sweetly. Steve looks from the expensive watch over to her. He shrugs. “Yeah, okay.” Stephanie grabs the watch and puts it back.

 

The two look around the music store, Steve picking up a vinyl of The Clash, Stephanie picking up one of Madonna. The two look at each other, Steve chuckling bit as he set the vinyl back down. Stephanie sat hers down too, looking over at him. “So, uh… you two have any issues searching?” An employee asks them. The two look over at him, Steve shaking his head. “Nah, man, I’m just fine.” Steve says. Stephanie nods. “We’re just trying to find a vinyl.” She smiles softly, Steve’s fingers glide through the records, looking for one that catches his eye. “So, is this like a… date night for you two?” The employee inquires.

“Absolutely not.

“Oh, absolutely not. Not with him.”

The two speak at the same time.

“I would never.”

“I have a boyfriend.”

They continue on.

“That’s not him. I have a boyfriend that’s not him.” Stephanie clarifies. She can feel the heat rising to her cheeks as she glances at Steve. “Something just keeps possessing me to pick this bitch up and drive her everywhere. I don’t know why.” Steve comments. Stephanie giggles softly at the comment. The two continue to look through the records, recommending songs to Steph that she hadn’t heard before.

 

“Stephanie, is that you?” Steph hears, tensing slightly. She puts a smile on her face as she turns around. “Oh my, God, Stephanie! Hi!” Emily greets, running up to him friend. “Emily! I didn’t see you!” Steph says enthusiastically. “I didn’t know you went to this store!” Emily smiles, her eyes glancing to Steve behind her. “Yeah, I’m just looking at the vinyl.” Steph smiles. “So…how are you? How are you and Ryan?” Emily asks, smiling at her best friend.

 

“Oh, we’re great. We’ve been hanging out all the time.” Steph nods. “Really? So why are you hanging out with Steve?” Emily asks out loud, as if Steve can’t hear her. “I can hear you.” Steve states. Emily rolls her eyes. “Okay, but she still needs to answer my question.” Emily looks to Stephanie with a smile. “I may be depressed, but I’m not deaf.” Steve mumbles. Stephanie has to keep herself from laughing.

 

Steve goes to grab the five dollars from her pocket, but Stephanie lightly smacks his hand away. “I’m just gonna go.” He says, fairly close to her ear. Steve, sighs, going to walk away, but Stephanie roughly grabs him by his denim jacket. She clears her throat. “We’re just – we’re just hanging out.” Steph says casually, smiling at her friend. “Really?” Emily judges, looking from the blonde to the brunet. “Yeah.” Steph smiles. “Well, if you get bored… George and I will be in the food court, okay?” Emily offers, looking over to Steve with those judging eyes of hers. “I’ll think about it. I’m not really hungry, so.” Steph says, her hand still tightly gripping onto Steve’s jacket. “Okay, well, just find us if you need me.” Emily smiles sweetly. Steph nods. “Okay, bye.” She smiles. Steph waits as the two walk out of the store.

 

Steve can see Stephanie’s shoulders relax as she looks over to him. “So, what are you gonna get?” She asks casually. Steve was slightly taken aback by how Stephanie had, well, moderately stood up for him. Steve shrugs as he starts to walk aimlessly around the store, his eyes looking over all of the vinyl. Stephanie taps her foot on the store softly as her eyes follow him around. Stephanie sighs as she starts looking around, pulling up the Tears for Fears album _, Songs From The Big Chair_. “I really like this one.” Steph smiles, showing it to Steve. “’Kay, fine. I’ll get it then.” Steve says casually, plucking the vinyl from her hands. “You know, you see me in here a lot… can I just get this for free?” Stephanie asks sweetly, leaning on the counter. “Yeah, sure.” The clerk shrugs, bagging the vinyl and handing it to her. Steph smiles sweetly as she hands the bag to Steve, the two walking out of the store together.

 

“It’s getting pretty late, we should head home.” Steph suggests. Steve nods, the two making their way to his car. Stephanie rolls down the window on their way back, watching as the sun set slowly in the distance. Steve hums softly to _Love My Way_ by The Psychedelic Furs, driving leisurely back to her house. He pulls the car up into her driveway, noticing the lights are on. “So, um…” She trailed off, playing slightly with her blonde locks. There’s a pause between them. “Are you flirting with me?” Steve asks her bluntly. She scoffs. “No.” She looks the other way, blushing slightly. “Then get out of the fucking car.” He states. Stephanie nods, stepping out. “See you tomorrow, Steve.” Steph smiled, closing the door. She heard Steve drive off as she turned to her house, pushing open the door.

 

“Stephanie? Is that you?” She hears from the living room. “I thought you weren’t supposed to be home from Italy until tomorrow.” Steph calls, walking into the living room. “Well, your dad tripped and broke his ankle.” Stephanie looks from her mom to her dad, who smiles sheepishly. “Come here, Honey.” Stephanie calls to her dog, who prances off of her mom’s lap and to the cheerleader. She picks up the Pomeranian. “Who were you out with?” Her mom asks. Stephanie scratches Honey’s ears. “Just a friend. His name is Steve.” Stephanie says softly, looking to her parents. “Steve Sanders? I know his dad, nice guy.” Her dad smiles, looking at his daughter. Stephanie nods. “I’ve gotta go do homework.” Without another word, she turns, walking up the stairs to her room.


	8. Asleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephanie and Steve take some time to hang out, Steve playing his vinyl as promised. Stephanie tries to get Steve to let loose. The night ends with yet another sudden interruption.

“Well, come on.” Steve grabs Stephanie by her wrist as he pulls her into his house. He let go quickly as she reexamines the house. Nothing really seemed to change since her visit just a short while ago. It was Wednesday now, another school night, but Steve had promised that his dad would be home late into the night this time. At least, he hoped he would be. Stephanie absentmindedly follows Steve up the stairs and into his room, looking around carefully. It was quite messy, papers and knickknacks skewed on his desk, a dozen or more posters tacked up onto his walls. His twin bed was tucked into the corner, right across from the door.

 

Sitting next to it, was his bedside table, a boom box resting on it. There was a closet to the right of the door when one would walk in, the doors open. There was a fair bit of dirty shoes and wrinkly clothing hanging up. His room smelled of weed, just like his car did, but Stephanie had gotten used to it by now. Her hands delicately trace over the footboard of his bed. “Could you close the door?” Steve asks her. Stephanie nods, closing it behind her. She set her bag onto his bed, continuing to look around. She hears the click of a lighter, then once again. “Shit.” She hears Steve cuss. She turns to him, away from her observations.

 

“Here.” She says, grabbing the lighter from his hands. Steve watches her, his joint hanging from his teeth. She ignites the lighter, glancing up at him before covering the flame and lighting his joint for him. “Thanks.” Steve says as she put the lighter back into his pocket. “What do you want to start with?”

 

Steph hummed, looking at Steve. “What about the one I got for you?” She suggests, still observing his room. Steve nods, pulling the vinyl from its packaging. Stephanie hears the whirring of the record player as she turns around. _Shout, shout, let it all out._ Stephanie bops her head, starting to dance slightly with the rhythm. “Come on, dance.” She holds her hands out to Steve, who rolls his eyes.

 

“I don’t dance.” He states, inhaling on his joint and blowing the smoke out. Admittedly, Steve wasn’t a bad dancer. He had loved music his whole life, and it seemed to be one thing that both he and Stephanie shared. However, he didn’t really dance around other people. Maybe once in a blue moon, but mostly only to himself. “I will get you to dance, Sanders.” Stephanie persists playfully, slightly bopping around the room as she sung to herself.

 

Steve had quickly smoked his joint, throwing the end out of the window on the side of his room. He was definitely high. Knowing this, Stephanie grabs Steve’s hand softly, pulling him into the middle of his room. She sways her hips back and forth a bit. “Come on.” The blonde looks up at him, a smile on her face. Steve slowly started to sway back and forth with her. She bopped her head. “I hope we live to tell the tale. I hope we live to tell the tale.” She sings softly, giggling. Steve laughs as she twirls slightly, holding onto his hand. “Shout, shout, let it all out.” Steph sings, pointing to Steve. “These are the things I can do without.” Steve sings softly, quietly.

 

Steph giggles, nodding him on. Getting tired, Steph lays down on the floor, her legs bent up as she watches the fan go around in slow circles. She could hear Steve stop the record, exchanging it as he put another one on. The sound of a piano starts as the volume turns up louder. Steve lays down, his body opposite to Stephanie as his head rested a few inches beside hers. He too looked up at the fan, his eyes following it around.

_Sing me to sleep, sing me to sleep. I’m tired and I want to go to bed._

Steve couldn’t tell if it were the drugs, or the proximity of the blonde beside him, but he could feel a buzzing in his body. It was different from a normal high, something more to it as he turned his head to look over to the cheerleader. Her eyes were closed as she breathed softly, relaxing.

_Sing me to sleep, sing me to sleep, and then leave me alone._

This close, Steve was able to see her clearly. There was a scar in her right eyebrow that he hadn’t noticed before, light freckles splashed across her cheeks. Steve didn’t want to admit it, but she was pretty relaxed. She suddenly turns her head, their noses lightly touching. A soft giggle made its way from her mouth as she turned and looked back at the ceiling. “Take a picture, asshole.” She said sarcastically.

 

Steve scoffed, turning to looking back up at the ceiling. “I only take pictures of pleasant people.” Steve murmurs, Steph immediately reaching her hand up and hitting him in the head. They fell back into a comfortable silence, a small smile on Stephanie’s face. The sun had somehow set, as Steph’s eyes flutter softly. She was struggling to stay awake. She knew she would have to get home soon, her parents home and all.

 

“Steve, we’re home!” Stephanie could hear. He eyes snap open as her heart pounds in her chest. She scrambles to her feet, as does Steve. They both look at each other, glancing around. “You’re gonna have to go through the window.” Steve whispered. “The fucking window?” Stephanie whisper-yells, looking between Steve, the door, and the window. “It’s not that far of a fall, I do it all the time. Just fucking – ”

 

Steve pushes her over to the window, placing her bag on her shoulder. Stephanie cursed to herself, peeking out to see the drop. Stephanie forced herself out of the window, hanging from her hands before letting go. She landed on her feet lightly, bending her knees to break her fall. She glances up at the window, hearing the record stop. Quickly turning on her heel, she sprinted towards her house.


End file.
